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fall off and fall out of

Hi there!
I'm opening this new thread because I'm a little bit confused and perplexed about the use of these two phrasal verbs: to fall off and to fall out of, specifically in sentences like these:
1) Did he fall out (Is OFF also possible without changing the meaning?) or was he pushed?
2) Did he fall off/out of the bike or was he pushed?
3) Today I've found a baby bird that had fallen off his nest/fallen out of his nest (Do they mean the same?)
4) I was fixing a bulb up and while I was on the ladder I accidentely fell off it/ fell out of it. (WHich one? Both possible?)

Re: fall off and fall out of

Originally Posted by dilodi83

Hi there!
I'm opening this new thread because I'm a little bit confused and perplexed about the use of these two phrasal verbs: to fall off and to fall out of, specifically in sentences like these:
1) Did he fall out (Is OFF also possible without changing the meaning?) or was he pushed?
2) Did he fall off/out of the bike or was he pushed?
3) Today I've found a baby bird that had fallen off his nest/fallen out of his nest (Do they mean the same?)
4) I was fixing a bulb up and while I was on the ladder I accidentely fell off it/ fell out of it. (WHich one? Both possible?)

How do you decide which one is correct between the two?

You can't fall out of something that you are not in. You're not in a bike, therefore you can't fall out of a bike.
You fall off things that you are on. If you on a wall, you can fall off it.
You don't fall off a nest. Birds are in, not on, a nest.
Are you in the ladder?